Run, and pray it does not find you
by quwira
Summary: A flying accident leaves Hiccup anxious and scared. Unfortunately, there is no time for fear, as a new threat looms over Berk...
1. Prologue

They gathered in a small cave, high above the cliffs and the stormy seas. They talked excitedly to each other. It had been a long time since they had all been summoned, not since their defeat.

A hush fell over the crowd as their leader, the one who had called for them, strode confidently into the main body of the cave. The firelight made his eyes twinkle impressively.

"My brothers, it has indeed been a long time," he said to them. He had a powerful effect on the crowd, as he always had done.

"A long time since we were humiliated. Defeated. Forced into hiding." There was a murmur about them, as they shamefully acknowledged this.

"Be not ashamed," said the leader, reading their thoughts. "For the time has come for our revenge! For I have found them, and those no good Vikings will suffer as we have."

They cheered, as thoughts of slaughter crossed their minds.

The Vikings would pay dearly for all they had done.

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**Here is a prologue I decided this story needed. FUN TIMES RIGHT?  
**

**I am also in need of some new tumblr blogs to follow. My tumblr is kellybellybee, and if you have a cool blog, let me know :D**


	2. Chapter 1

**I really wanted to finish writing this fanfiction completely before I started uploading it. However, HTTYD 2 is going to be released very soon, and I already know from the trailer that it will most likely spoil the head cannons I have for this story, so I am going to start uploading it now, so no one can really say too much. I really recommend you read my HTTYD one shots before you read this one, cause they all take place in my head cannon, and some of them will play a bit of a role in this one. Not too important for this chapter though. Anyway, I'm hoping to have fairly regular updates, but alas, university and jobs take preference, so the regular updates may not be for a while. Anyway, enjoy.  
**

* * *

**Chapter 1**

"Argh! Toothless!" Hiccup protested as his faithful companion gave him another slobbery lick. Toothless grinned at his human.

"You know I hate that!" The dragon gave his rider a look that said he was very aware of what Hiccup did and didn't like. He grinned again.

Hiccup smiled, and then turned his concentration back to his leg. Or what was left of it anyway. He undid the thick leather straps that held the prosthetic in place, and rubbed the stump. It had been bothering him a lot lately. It ached and it felt stiff. According to Gobber, Hiccup's employer and mentor, this was to be expected. Gobber himself had lost his own leg, as well as his hand in the dragon raids that used to plague the small village of Berk.

Hiccup considered himself lucky. He had survived the terrifying ordeal, even if he didn't quite come out of it whole. He snuggled into Toothless' side. The battle with the Green Death had been petrifying now that he thought of it. It didn't feel as much so during the fight. He was scared out of his mind, but the main thing he felt was adrenaline. It was the first time in his life he didn't feel like Hiccup the Useless. He was Hiccup the Brave.

He looked out at the sea once more, before re-doing the straps. He started to get to his feet. As always, Toothless was there to support him, and help him up. Hiccup yawned. "Thanks Buddy," he murmured, giving Toothless an affectionate scratch behind the ears. "What do you say we head on over to the cove?" Toothless nodded enthusiastically. The dragon used to hate the gorge that the villagers had since dubbed 'Night Fury Cove'. When the ability to fly had failed him, it was his prison, and he felt resentment towards it. Now that he could up and leave whenever he pleased, Toothless found it peaceful, and loved to nap there.

Toothless wriggled his shoulders and turned his head towards his back, motioning that Hiccup should climb on. Hiccup raised an eyebrow. He had seen the dragon's green eyes glimpse towards his metal addition. "I see what you're doing; you don't want me to walk on this leg." He put his hand on the black scales adorning the dragon's back. "How am I going to learn how to walk if you carry me everywhere?"

Toothless replied by lowering his head and gazing up at the human, making himself look as sad and pitiful as possible. "Those puppy dog eyes are not going to work on me." Hiccup said sternly. "It's not that far and I need the practice." Toothless huffed in discontent, which made his rider smile. "Come on," he said, and started to limp towards the cove, fully aware that the dragon scrutinised him carefully, ready to catch him if he fell. Hiccup also knew that the second he did, Toothless would be much more insistent on carrying him.

The walk was slow, although Toothless didn't mind all that much. Hiccup was learning to walk again, which the Night Fury knew from his experiences as an amputee, was a long and often painful process. His human didn't give up on him learning how to fly again, and so Toothless would help him as much as he could. Humans were extremely fragile after all. This was the dragon's conclusion as to why Hiccup took numerous short breaks on the walk. Toothless even liked these rests; it meant he was able to roll around in the sweet-smelling grass and warm his scales in the sun. Before he met Hiccup, Toothless was fairly nocturnal, given that his invisibility seemed to work best in the dark. Although he often needed a nap during the day, and was frequently plagued with insomnia at night, the dragon had to admit he rather liked daytime. It was filled with more colour, and more interesting creatures.

At long last, the pair made it to the opening of the cove. Reluctantly, Toothless left his human and jumped over the rocks that surrounded the ravine; there was no way his bulkier build would fit through the entrance that Hiccup used. He would wait for him on the other side.

Hiccup waited until his dragon could no longer see him before his expression turned to one of anxiety. He had hated getting through the rocky, steep opening when he had two working legs. Now, with the prosthetic, he dreaded it. He took a deep breath to calm his nerves, and stepped forward.

It wasn't so bad, Hiccup thought to himself. It was certainly getting easier as he became more adjusted to his metal foot. It still took him a while to get through, and he didn't think this was something that would ever change; he always had to watch where he was putting his prosthetic. It didn't grip like a normal foot should. He wondered how he might be able to improve on that. Line the bottom of it with something he supposed. Leather would wear out too easily and would be of no use in the rain or the snow. The leg might rust in bad weather anyway. Hiccup speculated whether something could be done about that.

Hiccup was so lost in his own thoughts, he didn't see the loose rock, just before the steep descent into the cove. He stepped on it with his prosthetic. Hiccup stumbled, and then fell the rest of the way down. His scream alarmed Toothless, who was resting on the large rock beside the lake.

Toothless came bounding over to the small teenager. Hiccup was in a heap on the floor, eyes closed and not moving. The dragon nudged his human, which earned no response. Panic started to set in, and so he resorted to licking Hiccup's face.

The rider groaned. "Toothless…that's gross…" he opened his eyes. He twisted his head a little to meet the dragon's green eyes, which were brimmed with concern. He reached up to pat Toothless' nose affectionately. "Sorry Buddy, must have slipped." Hiccup manoeuvred his arms underneath him to push himself up onto his knees. As he did so, searing hot pain exploded at his stump. He cried out and grasped it, as if that would make it stop. He couldn't think; it hurt him so much. Tears streamed down his face.

It took several moments before the pain subsided some. Hiccup undid the straps of his prosthetic carefully. The fall hadn't done that much damage, at least as far as he could see. It made him feel slightly foolish for reacting to it so badly. There were areas of skin Hiccup could tell would turn into bruises later, but that seemed to be the extent of the injury. He gave Toothless a smile. "See? Not that bad Buddy." The dragon did not look convinced, especially after that performance Hiccup just gave. He sniffed the stump tentatively, as if he thought he might hurt his human further. He gave Hiccup's head a quick sniff for good measure. He didn't smell any blood. Toothless still wasn't satisfied, but decided not to push it. His human could be exceedingly stubborn. He nudged his human's arm, and stuck his head under his armpit, to help Hiccup stand up. Hiccup, not wanting to put the metal contraption back on his leg just at that moment, gratefully accepted the help. Then the two slowly hobbled their way over to the large pond.

Toothless's straps and saddle were removed before he plopped himself down under a tree for a cat nap. Hiccup smiled at his friend before turning his attention back to his injuries. He sat at the edge of the water, and dangled his stump in. The water should help prevent any swelling. Considering he had blacked out, Hiccup figured he must have hit his head fairly hard. He carefully probed his scalp with his fingers until he came across a sore bump. Then he reached for the saddle, and turned it over. There was some cloth he had attached underneath to make it more comfortable for Toothless. He detached it now, and soaked it in the water. Once thoroughly wet, he placed it gingerly over the lump. He held it to his head as he flopped backwards. It was far more comfortable. Although he had a sore, and now cold, head and leg, Hiccup couldn't help love moments like these; lazing in the sunlight, with his best friend. He closed his eyes to prevent the sun getting in, and grinned. Yes, life was very good.

* * *

_"No!" Toothless had heard Hiccup cry, right before they hit the giant tail. After impact, Toothless shook his head. It didn't seem to have done that much damage. Suddenly, he realised he could no longer feel Hiccup's weight. He turned to see his friend fall, unconscious, into the hellish inferno._

Toothless woke with a start. He hated the fact that the giant dragon queen had controlled him. He was forever thankful to Hiccup for shooting him out of the sky, which somehow undid the spell, even if he had lost his ability to fly independently. He thought it ironic however, that occasionally; the queen would still have control over his dreams, even after she was killed. It wasn't the fact that he was dreaming of her that bothered Toothless; it was seeing his friend almost die.

He looked up to see said friend lying next to the pond, legs submerged in the water and a cloth over his head. Remembering the nightmare, a sudden feeling of dread struck Toothless, as he went to investigate.

Hiccup had merely fallen asleep. Toothless humphed. It was very typical for his fragile human to leave himself unprotected like that. Unlike dragons, who woke up very often (in order to be ready for anything), humans slept for ages on end. Toothless lay down next to him, and unfolded his wing to cover his slumbering rider. As he settled down for another nap, he thought that this defenselessness of Hiccup's was ok. Toothless would be there to protect him. Hiccup gave him his ability to fly, and Toothless would guard him. That's what friends did.

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**I hope you enjoyed the first chapter. Very cute start, hey? I promise, there will be some more actiony stuff in the next chapter. Until then!  
**


	3. Chapter 2

**SO another chapter. Valka's supposed death does play into this story. I HAVE NOT SEEN HTTYD2 YET. Please no spoilers. This is my head cannon from before, when they think Valka has died. For more clarification, please read my one-shot 'When will Mummy be back?'  
**

**Also keep in mind this story is on hold for the moment as I finish this semester of university, then I'll try write as much as I can. Anyway, enjoy.**

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Chapter 2

He felt very warm. He relished in the warmth. It was very comforting. It reminded him a little of the hugs his mother used to give, before she was tragically drowned at sea during a storm. He could even hear a heartbeat. It thumped rhythmically, and made him feel safe.

Hiccup opened his eyes. Had he fallen asleep? All he could see was black. He wriggled a little and felt scales. Ah. Toothless had fallen asleep on him again. Still, he didn't complain. It was peaceful; a tranquillity hardly ever gained in the village.

He turned, and felt something slide off his head. It was the cloth, and it was, Hiccup noted, dry. He must have been asleep for a while.

Suddenly, something jogged in his memory. He was supposed to meet Astrid and the others that afternoon. They were to all go flying together. Hiccup wriggled out as carefully as he could without waking the dragon, but to no avail. Toothless was awake, but not willing to move. He watched his human through slitted eyes try and crawl out, and he was going to do nothing to help.

Hiccup managed to get out from underneath his heavy dragon after several minutes of struggling. He shielded his eyes against the light. He noted the position of the sun.

"I'm going to be so late."

He quickly crawled over to where his prosthetic lay abandoned and strapped it on. He grabbed a branch to pull himself up with, before limping over to the black mass.

"Come on Toothless, we're gonna be late to meet the others."

Toothless lifted his head up to watch his human get the saddle, before standing up to make the process of strapping it on easier. He knew how angry his human's 'not-quite-mate' could be if kept waiting for too long. He could not quite figure out Hiccup's and Astrid's relationship. Were they, or were they not mates? They acted like it sometimes, but avoided eye contact other times, and occasionally even fought. Humans, Toothless decided, were very confusing.

Hiccup finally had the saddle on, and locked his prosthetic in place. Without any other kind of signal, Toothless took to the sky. They flew above the clouds to find his friends.

* * *

"Come on, I said I was sorry!" Hiccup said. "What do I have to do?"

Astrid whacked his arm. "That ought to cover it." The twins cracked up.

"Good thinking Astrid," sneered Tuffnut. "Hit the guy who can't hit back!"

"I can't imagine what your wedding night would be like!" Ruffnut joined in. Hiccup blushed very deeply, and suddenly seemed to find the sandy floor very interesting. Astrid on the other hand, quickly ran over to her dragon, Stormfly, and hid her face. The twins laughed again.

Snotlout mounted his Nightmare, Hookfang. "We flying or what?" The exclamation made the others quickly strap up their dragons. Fishlegs gave his Gronkle, Meatlug, a carrot. The twins argued over which head was which.

"This one's Belch!" claimed Tuffnut.

"No, that's Barf, this one is Belch!" insisted Ruffnut.

Hiccup grinned at the fighting twins, before climbing back on Toothless' back. Toothless craned his neck around so that Hiccup could see him roll his eyes at the twins' antics.

"Agreed," he replied. "Though I must admit, they're pretty fun to watch."

Snotlout was the first in the air, followed closely by Hiccup and Astrid. Meatlug seemed to adore Fishlegs, and did not mind him taking his time to start flying. The twins were wrestling to decide who was right, while the Zippleback looked on uninterestedly. Eventually, the left head nudged Ruffnut.

"See, told you this one was Barf!" she gloated, before mounting. Tuffnut stuck his tongue out.

Hookfang decided that he wanted to loop-the-loop, which caused Snotlout to yell. The rest of the group laughed. Toothless shot a small lightning bolt playfully at Hookfang, who dodged it expertly.

"Hiccup!" Snotlout shouted. "Tell Toothless I don't want to be shot out of the air!"

"Toothless wouldn't have shot you out of the air!" Hiccup replied. "I think it's one of the ways dragons communicate!" He spotted Astrid out of the corner of his eye. She saw that she had his attention and motioned upwards. Hiccup nodded, then changed his foot position and urged his black dragon to fly towards the clouds. Stormfly did the same.

They broke through the clouds and into the clear sky above. Stormfly flew in close to Toothless, so that Astrid might climb on behind Hiccup. They routinely did this during flights. Even though the exact nature of their relationship was complicated, they both enjoyed this closeness, the bliss of being in each other's company while flying above the clouds. The others, Tuffnut and Snotlout in particular, very much wished to know what Astrid and Hiccup did when they flew above the clouds. However, their dragons would not allow them to fly up and see. This was the deal they had made with Toothless and Stormfly.

"It's beautiful," commented Astrid, more to herself than to her companion.

Hiccup smirked. "You're beautiful." Astrid rested her head on Hiccup's shoulder.

"That was corny."

"I expect you're gonna hit me now?"

Astrid shrugged. "Not now. Probably not a good idea to hit the person steering." Toothless grunted in complaint. The two teenagers laughed. "I didn't think I needed to mention you, everyone knows you're the one in charge here Toothless." Toothless craned his neck around to look at Astrid and gave her a nod of approval.

"It's getting dark," noted Hiccup. "We should probably get back."

Suddenly a scream came from below the thick clouds. It was unmistakably Ruffnut. This was followed by yells that sounded like they came from the boys. Astrid yelled for Stormfly who was flying close behind. Then the Viking girl leapt off Toothless' back and landed on her own dragon.

Hiccup nodded to Astrid before adjusting the foot pedal. Toothless synchronized perfectly and the dipped beneath the clouds.

A dragon appeared in Toothless' vision. It was female, and was the colour of dried blood. She had massive spikes along her back. Her wings had a distinctive silver tip that resembled a dagger. Her small eyes were the colour of ambers.

"Oh Gods, a Knifewing," he heard his rider say.

"An Oleaginous Knifewing!" said Fishlegs excitedly. "They're quite rare, and have an oil-based attack and-…" "Not the time Fishlegs!" cried Hiccup. Fishlegs mumbled an apology.

Knifewings were not usually known to be hostile; however this one was in a very aggressive position, baring her teeth. Toothless noted that her stomach bulged slightly; she was getting ready to lay an egg. Of course she would be defensive! They must have flown too close to her nest. Toothless quickly glanced at the other dragons. They too had realized her pregnancy and stayed back, despite their riders' confused cries. Hiccup on the other hand had sensed his dragon's mood and remained silent. Toothless shot a tiny bolt of lightning towards her, one he knew wouldn't hurt her. It was a comforting bolt, so she would know they meant no harm to her or her baby.

He could tell immediately that she did not trust the message. Or maybe it was the fact that they flew with humans on their backs. She slitted her eyes, and gave a terrifying roar, before launching herself at him. He dodged, before barking an order to the other dragons to get the kids out of there immediately. He acted as a leader, even in the Queen dragon's rule. Being virtually invisible during the raids meant he was a good look out, and could judge the situation without being shot at, so the other dragons learnt to trust his judgement. Right now, the circumstance looked dangerous, and he felt it was best if he and Hiccup survey the problem before they decided to engage in combat.

Toothless flew in a circle around her, while yelling that they meant no harm to her, or her unborn baby. The Knifewing screamed back that there was filth on his back, and that he was a traitor to their species, before gathering oil in her throat, ready to ignite it. Toothless flew quickly to her side and rammed her. Much of the oil fell out of her mouth, and into the ocean.

If she was angry before, Hiccup knew she would be furious now. She swiped at the pair with her razor sharp wings, aiming straight at him. He moved the prosthetic to change the foot pedal. Toothless barrel rolled out of the Knifewing's striking distance. She growled, and flew in for another go at Hiccup. Toothless shot her again with his lightning, but this time, defensively. It hit the base of her wing. She screeched, and fell several feet before regaining control.

Hiccup figured their best bet would be to use Toothless' amazing speed and fly around her, possibly disorientating her. However, before he could change his foot position, his leg spasmed. Excruciating pain shot from his hip to his stump. He couldn't concentrate on flying. He cried out in pain. Even if he could think through the agony, the muscles in his leg moved involuntarily, making control of the fin impossible.

The Knifewing saw that the Night Fury was, for some reason, losing control of his flight, as his human shrieked. She used this to her advantage, and shot an oily fireball straight at the human.

Toothless saw the fireball coming, but something was wrong with Hiccup. He fought to keep them both in the air, but he wouldn't be able to avoid that fireball. He felt it hit his back right leg, but he could tell that Hiccup had gotten hit too. He smelt burning leather (a smell he had learnt when Hiccup had first made the saddle, and tried to force him into it).

Suddenly, he could no longer feel Hiccup's weight. Toothless looked down and saw him falling. It was just like their fight with the Queen Dragon, except this time felt worse.

This time, Hiccup was screaming.

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**I own the Knifewing. If you wish to use it in your own stories, feel free but credit me please.  
**

**Anyway, leave me a review, let me know what you thought.**

**I wrote this chapter so long ago, like, BEFORE the TV series was a thing**


	4. Chapter 3

**I would like to thank everyone for being so patient with this story. My life has been quite hectic as of late, as I moved overseas and started a new job and all that, but I will rant about that at the end of the chapter. Enjoy.  
**

* * *

The sound of the scream made Toothless's stomach drop. He dived for his human, even though he couldn't steer properly. He could see the terror in Hiccup's eyes. He had almost reached him when the Knifewing screeched again. Another fireball had been shot. This one hit him squarely on the shoulder. The impact sent him spinning out of control, and he was sent flying further away from his terrified human.

Toothless watched helplessly as Hiccup plummeted into the water.

* * *

Hiccup crashed into the icy water. It stung as much as if he had fallen hard in the kill ring. Black clouded his vision, but he was determined to stay conscious. He didn't panic; his mother had made sure he could swim before she died.

He kicked ferociously to get to the surface, but it never seemed to get any closer. As he regained his senses, he realised why. His prosthetic was dragging him down.

Dread settled in his stomach. He reached down to try and undo the straps, but the freezing water had made his fingers stiff.

Suddenly, he was faced with an image. It was of a woman. She was well-built and muscular, and dressed in the clothes of a viking warrior.

It was his mother.

She smiled at his before raising her arms for an embrace. Hiccup almost reached out when the image changed.

Her skin melted away leaving only bone. Her armour rusted. He gasped, letting out the breath he had been holding. He was looking at her corpse.

His mind kicked back into action, even though his lungs threatened to explode. _That was a hallucination_. He told himself firmly. He had to make it back to the surface. He didn't want to die.

_Toothless_ he thought as he blacked out. _Help._

* * *

There was a pressure on his chest, then his mouth.

Hiccup coughed. He could feel something rolling him over, and forcing his mouth open. He almost gagged when he felt all the sea water came out. He coughed again.

He tried opening his eyes, but it was too bright and he quickly shut them again. He could hear a babble of voices, but couldn't discern what any of them were saying.

Then he heard something else; a desperate, animalistic whine.

"Too-!" Hiccup started, before he started violently wheezing. The salty water had left his mouth incredibly dry. He tried to sit up, but someone pushed him back down again.

"He's fine Hiccup," a voice that sounded like Astrid said. His sense of hearing was clearing up, but it was still too bright for him to open his eyes properly.

He hissed in pain as something touched his side. Toothless' cry came again.

"Toothless, no!" came Fishlegs from a distance. "Stay here!"

Toothless obviously did not heed the warning, and next thing Hiccup knew, he felt the comforting, cool scales of his dragon's nose wedged under his fingers. He could hear Toothless sniffing his frantically.

"What happened?" Hiccup asked. His vision became less cloudy, and he was able to make out the outlines of his friends.

"Well, you were fighting the Knifewing, and then it looked like you lost control," explained Astrid.

"Then the Knifewing shot you with its oil," added Fishlegs. "A Knifewing has a plus 8 shot, and it was very impressive. It might have been almost beautiful if I wasn't so terrified."

"Yeah, cause you usually _aren't_ terrified," muttered Snotlout. Astrid swiftly punched him.

"Man that burn looks cool," said Tuffnut in awe. He was about to touch Hiccup's stomach, when Astrid slapped his hand away. "Why couldn't the Knifewing have hit me?"

Hiccup could see fairly clearly now. Astrid was looking angrily at Tuffnut and Snotlout, but she was pale with worry. Ruffnut was nodding, agreeing with her twin, but he could sense that she too had been very concerned. Fishlegs was a bit further back, examining Toothless's wings. Snotlout was drenched. Hiccup coughed again.

"You fell in the water," continued Astrid.

"Yeah," Hiccup gulped. "I remember that bit." He forced the image of his mother's skeleton out of his mind. He gave Toothless's nose a little scratch, and tried not to let on that it hurt to do so.

"Well, when you didn't come back up we started getting worried," said Astrid. "Snotlout jumped in to get you."

"Your fake leg was dragging us both down," said Snotlout. "I couldn't undo the straps, so I had to cut it off." He played with the edge of his tunic. "I might have cut you a bit."

"And the Knifewing?"

"Flew away when you and Toothless went down," said Fishlegs.

"It was so awesome," stated Tuffnut. "So much tougher looking than our dragon."

Rain started to drizzle. Hiccup coughed pathetically.

"We'd better get him back to the village. Snotlout, you carry him," Astrid commanded.

"But I-…"

Astrid folded her arms. "Now."

Snotlout grumbled under his breath, but picked Hiccup up anyway. Hiccup bit back a cry. Whatever the Knifewing did, hurt a lot.

* * *

Stoic looked out the window. It was getting dark, and Hiccup was not back. Not that it worried him; the sun set quite early this time of the year. Also, he knew Toothless would defend his boy no matter what. Gobber was right about one thing; Stoic wasn't always going to be around to protect him, and now he didn't need to be.

Someone started pounding at the door frantically. Stoic frowned. Usually, no one came to his door this late, unless there was some kind of emergency. Occasionally, it was because he had missed some important meeting, but that happened very rarely. "Stoic!" came a strangled yell. It sounded like Snotlout, but Stoic wasn't sure why he would be so urgent.

He opened the door cautiously. There stood the Viking teens. Astrid and the twins were there looking worried. Ruffnut was tugging at her plaits, and Astrid was playing nervously with her axe. Fishlegs, Stoic noted was strangely absent.

Snotlout was soaking wet, and Stoic could see him shivering slightly. But what got his attention the most, was what was in Snotlout's arms; a drenched, obviously injured Hiccup.

Astrid started talking straight away. "We were flying Stoic, and then a Knifewing came out of nowhere! And-"

"It was the ugliest thing I've ever seen-…" added Tuffnut, throwing his arms out for emphasis.

Astrid hit him quickly before continuing. "It attacked us and Hiccup-"

"Go home kids," said Stoic sternly. He gently took his son from Snotlout's arms. Hiccup groaned.

"But Stoic-…" Astrid began.

"NOW!" bellowed Stoic. He turned to his nephew. "Snotlout, get your father." Snotlout nodded and ran towards his house. The other teens walked hesitantly to their own houses.

Hiccups moaned. "Dad?' he asked weakly.

"I'm here, son." Stoic inspected the boy in his arms. There was a nasty burn on his right arm. He could see burns on his chest, through some newly formed holes in his tunic. The stump of his left leg was cut, and bleeding. Hiccup shivered.

First things first, thought Stoic. Get Hiccup out of those wet clothes, then wait, he supposed, until Spitelout got there. Spitelout was the village healer, though he focused more on physical injuries; the kind you might get in combat. He didn't have Gothi's expertise on illness. Nevertheless Stoic's brother was a very handy person to have around on the battle field.

He sat Hiccup on the table. Hiccup looked a little like a drowned baby bird.

"Alright Hiccup," said Stoic gruffly. "Arms up." Hiccup obediently raised his arms, as Stoic gently tugged the soggy tunic over his son's head. The burns were worse than he had first realised. He tried not to grimace. He had seen his share of injuries, burns included, but it was different when it was his son. He took a deep breath.

"Ok, time for the pants."

Hiccup looked horrified. "Dad!"

Stoic looked at his son sternly. "This is no time to be shy, Hiccup."

"But…But…"

"I changed you when you were a baby."

"That was then, and this is now and-…"Hiccup babbled.

"Hiccup."

Hiccup knew that tone. It was his father's '_There is no room for arguments, so do as I say'_ tone. He sighed. "Fine."

With one hand, Stoic easily lifted his son's small frame. With the other, he swiftly pulled down his trousers. Hiccup's sharp intake of breath did not go unnoticed.

"You right?" asked Stoic, as he rummaged around in his trunk.

"Great," replied Hiccup. Stoic couldn't help but chuckle. Hiccup was as stubborn to admit injury as any viking in the village.

Stoic threw a large blanket around Hiccup, before turning his attention to the gash on his stump. Astrid had mentioned something about a Knifewing, but Stoic had seen enough battle to know that this cut looked man-made.

"How'd this happen?" Stoic asked, as he dabbed it lightly with a wet cloth.

Hiccup gulped. "When I fell in the water, the prosthetic was dragging me down. Snotlout had to cut it off to pull me out."

The cut seemed to have stopped bleeding, so Stoic left it and went to his trunk again. He pulled out an old night shirt. It had become a bit snug on him recently, but he had no doubts Hiccup would be swimming in it. Something loose fitting would be better with those injuries. He pulled it over Hiccup's head, and then made sure the blanket was tucked securely around him again.

Stoic pursed his lips. Something had occurred to him. Even with his limited sensitivity training, he knew it would be difficult to ask about.

"So..um…"

Spitelout came in then. He was the only person in the village who never bothered knocking on the chief's door. He always came barging in. (Gobber on the other hand, knocked, _then_ came barging in without waiting for an answer).

"Snotlout said a Knifewing attacked the kids while they were flying today," said Spitelout. "I told him to come over once he changed out of those wet clothes." He turned to Hiccup. "Just the hand then?" he asked, disbelievingly, looking pointedly at the burn. Surely, he wouldn't have been summoned so urgently for something so small?

Stoic read his brother easily. "And his arm, and his chest. Plus a nasty cut on his stump."

Spitelout grunted. "So that's what Snotty was babbling about. Going on about how he didn't mean to hurt him. Let's have a look then."

As Spitelout examined the burn, Stoic drew in a breath. "So…where's Toothless?"

Hiccup wouldn't raise his head to meet his father's eyes. "He was hurt too. Fishlegs is taking care of him." Stoic nodded. He knew the dragon would never have left his son's side willingly.

Spitelout started rubbing a foul smelling ointment on the burns. "Wish I could have gotten here sooner." Hiccup bit his lip. The ointment was making his burns hurt unbearably.

A knock came at the door. It was a timid sounding knock, so Stoic almost didn't hear it at first. Then, the door creaked open a few inches, and Snotlout's face peered in. Stoic beckoned him in.

He looked at Hiccup fearfully, almost as if he was on his death bed. He was being uncharacteristically quiet.

"Ah Snotlout," said Spitelout. "I want you to tell the chief exactly what happened."

Snotlout twiddled his thumbs. "Well, we were flying, and a Knifewing flew up to us. Our dragons made us go back to the beach, while Toothless and Hiccup tried to distract it-…"

He was interrupted by a groan from Hiccup. His eyes were screwed up, and yet the tears could still be seen streaming from his eyes. Spots started forming in his vision, and he couldn't concentrate on anything except how excruciating the pain was.

"Hiccup!"

He wasn't sure who had called his name, or indeed, if he had imagined it. That was his last thought before he passed out.

* * *

**Alright, so another chapter done!  
**

**Anyway, so I am actually in the Disney College program, so I moved from Australia to Florida last month. It's been pretty good so far, but very hectic. I have been keeping a daily diary, which I have been considering posting on tumblr. Would anyone actually be interested in reading it though?**

**I am gonna try my hardest to finish this story soon, so I can have regular updates, but I am not terribly happy with the way the ending is turning out, so I have to ask you to be a little more patient. I really appreciate all the kind words!**


	5. Chapter 4

**DREAMWORKS NEEDS TO STOP ADDING TO THE HTTYD UNIVERSE BECAUSE IT RUINS MY STORY!**

**Such a long absence. My apologies, but life gets in the way sometimes. I'm definitely sticking with this til the end though! I have actually almost all of it written, so once I have, I can have more regular updates. Plenty of story left to go, don't worry.**

**Anyway, I have not seen all of Race to the Edge yet, but from the sounds of it, there are a few things that happen that seem VERY similar to this story, which is annoying because I have been working on this off and on again for 5 years. Oh yes. That's really bad, I need to write quicker. Just so you know, it was my idea first.**

**Have a read, let me know what you think.**

* * *

As soon as Fishlegs gave him the all clear to go home (with warnings not to fly for at least a week), Toothless was off. He bounded through the village, with no concern about the people who had to jump aside, or the baskets of fish he bowled over. He only had one thought, Hiccup; his precious, fragile human. As he thought of the last time he saw his human, he knew he would never be able to forget how small and lifeless he looked. Hiccup's deathly pale face looked at him in his mind's eye, and Toothless renewed his vow to never let anything happen to his rider again.

The front door of Hiccup's house was closed. Toothless was just about to break it down, when suddenly he thought of the first time he had tried. The big human, whom Toothless now understood was Hiccup's father, was not happy and had yelled. A lot. If Hiccup was injured, an angry parent was the last thing he needed. So, rather reluctantly, Toothless stopped in front of the door. He raised a paw and scratched at it. It seemed rather pathetic, like a Terrible Terror wanting food, but he did not care. All that mattered was his human.

Stoick opened the door. He smiled, as if he had been expecting him. The smile did not reach his eyes. Toothless had learned that when humans show genuine emotion, they use their entire faces. This worried Toothless more. He pushed past Stoick and galloped up the stairs.

Hiccup lay very still on the bed. He was covered in bandages. He was still pale, but not the sickly grey colour he was when Snotlout had pulled him out of the water. At least it was some improvement. Toothless laid his head on the blanket, looking pleadingly at his rider, sending him a strong, telepathic message to open his eyes.

Stoick came up the stairs. "He'll be right Toothless." He gave him a scratch just behind the ears. "Don't you worry."

* * *

Hiccup was not alright. The cut on his leg had become infected. He developed a raging fever. For a week, he lay on the bed, occasionally groaning and twitching. Stoick shirked on as many chiefly duties as he dared to take care of him. He managed to get Hiccup to drink very little, by propping him up and pouring water down his throat. This was something he knew Toothless would not be able to assist with. The dragon watched Hiccup diligently. Stoick started to suspect he didn't sleep at all.

Toothless had learned to soak a cloth in the bucket of cool water and place it on Hiccup's burning forehead (though Stoick could tell Toothless didn't particularly know why). It was an unspoken understanding that Toothless would take care of Hiccup the few times when Stoick absolutely did have to leave. That dragon loved Hiccup just as much as he did.

Which made it that much more difficult for Stoick to try and communicate to Toothless that there was a very good chance that Hiccup may not survive at all.

* * *

It seemed to him like he was flying in space. Yes, he could make out the stars. They twinkled at him as he flew below. The Northern Lights started shining. It was all so peaceful and serene. Hiccup smiled contentedly.

"Nice night," he commented. "Isn't it bud?" He looked down at Toothless. Except Toothless wasn't there. No, mused Hiccup. That couldn't be right. He probably just couldn't _see_ Toothless, he was a Night Fury after all. He reached out to give his beloved dragon a scratch behind the ears in the place he liked. His hand touched nothing. He started grabbing frantically. There was definitely nothing there.

Suddenly, the mysterious force that was holding him up dropped out, and he started to fall. He tried to scream, to cry out for help, but the wind carried his voice away. He looked down and saw the ocean rushing up to meet him. It looked fierce and choppy. The stars disappeared behind storm clouds, and lightning crackled all around him. He hit the dark water hard.

He couldn't see anything. He didn't know which way was up. The current kept thrashing him around, making him disorientated.

He saw something. It was blue and glowing eerily. It looked foreboding, but it was something. Hiccup pulled himself toward it. It took an age; his body did not want to cooperate.

After what seemed like an eternity, he reached the strange object. It now resembled a woman, with her back to him. A viking woman no doubt, judging by her attire. She looked familiar.

"Mum?" said Hiccup wearily. She turned toward him. Hiccup tried to scream, but it came out like a scratchy cough. This woman, whom he was now convinced was his mother, had a skull for a face.

He was surrounded by fire. The noise around him was deafening. It sounded like something exploding, but there was an ominous screeching. He looked down and saw Toothless. They were fighting the Green Death again. Hadn't they already defeated it?

He saw the spiked tail swing towards him. He tried to adjust his footing, to do anything to stop it.

"No! NO!" he yelped, as the tail hit him.

_This was when I passed out_ thought Hiccup, his memories coming back to him. Except, this time he didn't pass out. He kept falling. He could feel the heat, as the flames consumed him. He tried vainly to look for Toothless, but all he could see was fire, burning so hot and bright it hurt to look at.

He was going to die.

* * *

Hiccup shot up with a scream. Sweat was pouring down his face, and had dampened his shirt. He looked around, he was in his bed.

Toothless bounded up beside him. After quickly assessing there was nothing physically wrong with his human, he gave Hiccup an affectionate lick on the cheek. Hiccup threw his arms around Toothless' neck. Toothless could feel him shaking, and covered his with his wings. He could almost smell the fear emanating off him. It must have been a horrifying dream. Toothless never understood the need for humans to hold on to each other (or their trusty dragon companion) when they were frightened or sad, but he figured they must find it comforting. So he held his boy, as best he could.

* * *

Stoick hated to leave Hiccup when he was so sick, but there had been an emergency. A fishing boat had been attacked by a wild dragon. All the men had survived thankfully, but they had lost a lot of supplies. Winter would be tough to get through this year.

He returned home to see Toothless on the bed. Behind the beast's ginormous wings, he could see Hiccup, still looking sickly, but awake and sitting up. Stoick smiled. "Glad to see you back in the land of the living."

Hiccup smiled weakly. "How long was I out?"

"Couple a days."

Hiccup nodded. Toothless moved so that Stoick may better observe his son (he knew a lot more about human ailments after all).

Stoick held his large hand up to Hiccup's forehead.

"Fever's gone down a bit," he reported. He wiped his hand on his tunic. "But you're not out of the woods yet. You're to stay in bed. Are we clear?"

"Yes sir," mumbled Hiccup. Stoick smiled.

"Drink some water, and then try getting some more rest. Toothless!" The dragon stood to attention. Stoick chuckled to himself; it was like addressing his Vikings when a raid was approaching. "Make sure he stays in bed." Toothless nodded. Stoick wasn't sure if he understood, but he felt well assured that Toothless would not let anything happen to his son.

"I have a few more errands to run," said Stoick. "I'll be back in a few hours."

"I'll be here," replied Hiccup.

Stoick left, banging the door noisily behind him.

Hiccup gave Toothless a scratch behind the ears. He drank from the goblet that had been left by his bedside. Then he settled himself down in the pillows, ready to sleep.

But sleep did not take him.

* * *

**What did you think? Let me know guys!  
**


	6. Chapter 5

Toothless woke up to the sound of a strangled yell. He knew that voice too well. He leapt over to Hiccup's beside. Hiccup was sitting upright in the bed, covered in sweat and panting. He grabbed the bucket Stoick had left beside the bed and dry-retched into it. Toothless groaned sympathetically. His human was much improved but was still sickly. He wished there was more he could do.

Hiccup pulled his head out of the bucket. Although he had only dry-retched that time, he had vomited a lot the day prior. His stomach muscles ached terribly as a result. His head hurt and he felt sticky from the sweat. His burns were healing but still stung. However, he would not worry his dragon any further by showing any of his pain. He gave a weak smile, and patted Toothless on the head.

"Sorry to wake you bud," he croaked. "It's those nightmares again." He had had the same sort of dream every night, all revolving around falling and death. He had seen his mother's corpse more times than he cared to count.

Toothless nudged Hiccup gently, then grabbed the blanket and dragged it over to where he usually slept. He came back to the bed, and looked at his boy imploringly. He wanted Hiccup to sleep next to him, and there was no way a Night Fury was going to fit on that bed. He knew that Hiccup would feel safer curled up next to him.

Hiccup nodded, he shifted to the edge of the bed. Toothless offered his head as a crutch. They slowly made their way back to Toothless's sleeping area.

Hiccup, Toothless noted, seemed a lot calmer in the embrace of his dragon, as he fell asleep. Calmer, but, something was still troubling him.

* * *

Astrid hung up the last of the laundry on the clothes line. She remembered now how much she hated these chores. She had been excused from a lot of them for a while, as training dragons was seen as much more important to the development of Berk. However, since Hiccup had had his accident and fallen ill, dragon training had been put on hold.

"Now, now Astrid," her mother had told her. "Training dragons is important, but so is learning to be a good wife." And so, she had put Astrid to work, laundering and sewing. Of course, Astrid recognised the importance of this, but did not like the image it perceived; the weak woman in need of protecting. She would still be able to fight, but if she ever had children, it would be her responsibility to care for them first, and the very thought made her a little melancholy.

At least, Hiccup was getting better. Stoick had told her so. She remembered that Hiccup had always been somewhat sickly as a child, and that illness seemed to affect him much more than the other children. She always thought he was being a bit of a baby then, putting it on to get attention, but now she had seen his strength, and knew that if he was confined to a bed, that he was not acting.

Stormfly looked at Astrid as she picked up her laundry basket. Her dragon wanted to fly; it had been a while since they had gone for a proper ride.

"In a minute," she told her, and gave the blue scales a scratch.

"Talking to yourself, Astrid?" came a familiar, nasally voice.

Astrid turned around. "Hiccup, you're up!"

Hiccup grinned. He was supporting himself on a wooden crutch. Toothless was right beside him, ever ready to catch him should he fall. Judging by the dirt patches on Hiccup's pants, she guessed it had happened a few times already. It was easy to tell he had been sick; his colour was still a bit off, and he was, if possible, skinnier than before. His clothes were quite baggy. The most telling sign were his eyes; they were bloodshot and were accompanied by dark patches.

She looked pointedly at where his left leg should have been. "I guess that means no dragon academy for a while still?"

He smiled apologetically. "Yeah, I need to make a new leg. Gobber offered, but I made so many tweaks and adjustments to the last one it'll just be easier if I make it myself." He shifted his crutch slightly. "Plus, I think I've grown." He stood up a little straighter, to prove his point. "Toothless will probably need some repairs on his tail fin. The Knifewing messed it up a bit."

"Don't push yourself too hard," she said. "We need you in one piece sooner rather than later."

* * *

"Fishlegs did a pretty good job," said Hiccup, as he examined where Toothless had previously been injured. Toothless's response was a gummy smile, as if Hiccup was praising him. Hiccup gave Toothless's nose a scratch before turning back to his plans. Toothless had grown ever so slightly, so the original blueprints for his tale had to be adjusted accordingly.

He laid down his pen and wiggled his fingers. His burnt right hand protested a little to the movement. He was glad that he was left handed, otherwise writing and making the new plans would have been hell. Hiccup figured he should probably measure Toothless, to get the adjustments just right. He glanced around the table, but could not see the measuring strap (a long piece of leather he and Gobber used, with some holes punched in it to measure). There is was, on the other side of the room. He sighed, and pushed himself out of the chair, then promptly fell down. Toothless lurched forward to catch him.

"Thanks Buddy," said Hiccup. With Toothless's help, he eased himself back into the chair. He had momentarily forgotten he only had one leg. He rubbed the stump gently. His fall had knocked it and now it stung. He sighed again. Making a repairing everything would be difficult without his prosthesis. Maybe he should ask for Gobber's help, at least with making a new leg.

* * *

"Hookfang, No!" yelled Snotlout, as the Monstrous Nightmare bucked him off yet again. At least this time he landed in the ocean, and not into the bushes.

"Something is wrong with my dragon!" he complained as he surfaced.

"Your helmet is missing," said Astrid, as she and Stormfly landed perfectly on the beach. Snotlout swore and quickly dove down again to retrieve it. Hookfang seemed as though he was laughing.

"Hiccup needs to fix Hookfang!" Snotlout grunted, as he came back up to the beach. He pulled some seaweed out of his tunic.

"He's been busy."

The twins landed on the beach. "How long does it take to make a leg?" Ruffnut said. "I mean, Gobber just whacked on a piece of wood, and he was good to go."

"Gobber didn't have to control a dragon fin," came a voice behind them.

Everyone turned. Hiccup was there, and Toothless was, as always, by his side. He had gained some of the weight back, but he was still pale, contrasting with the dark circles under his eyes. Ironically, he was in fact using a wooden leg, which the twins were quick to point out.

"Yeah, making a new leg from scratch is taking longer than I thought it would. It didn't help that Gobber didn't keep any notes on the original." He grinned. "Shouldn't be too much longer."

"Then you'll be flying again?" asked Fishlegs. Meatlug liked to hover (as her short wing span allowed it), so Fishlegs was not making her land.

"Well, I need to remake a lot of Toothless' gear. It all got destroyed during that attack." Hiccup gave his dragon an affectionate rub behind the ears. "I thought I might watch you guys fly for a bit though."

"If it looks like I'm terrible at flying, it's 'cause something's wrong with my dragon," said Snotlout. Hiccup thought he saw Hookfang roll his eyes out of the corner of his eye.

"Of _course_ there is," replied Hiccup, stopping himself just in time from rolling his own eyes. He plopped himself onto the sand. "Now let's see how you guys are faring without me."

Fishlegs, the twins and Snotlout took off immediately, showing off to the best of their abilities. Snotlout was attempting to do some loop-the-loops, while Hookfang obviously didn't want to. Ruffnut and Tuffnut argued about what to do, while Fishlegs flew in rather slow circles. Toothless looked rather wistfully at them.

"I know bud, soon."

Astrid cleared her throat. Hiccup looked up at her and raised an eyebrow.

"You look like a mess," she stated simply.

"Thanks."

"Have you been getting any sleep?"

Hiccup shrugged. "Maybe not as much as I could be getting, but I'm fine. Still recovering you know."

Astrid sat down next to him. "Maybe you're working yourself too hard. Like you just said, you are still recovering."

"I'm fine Astrid, really."

"We need you Hiccup," she said rather quietly, drawing circles in the sand with her finger. "We need you to be in top shape. I mean, with the academy, and there was another dragon attack on a boat last week." She stopped to take a long breath, as if trying to figure out how to phrase her next sentence. "If you're not one hundred percent, then, how are you going to help us?"

Hiccup stayed silent. Astrid took that as an 'I don't know.'

She sighed and stood up, brushing the sand off her skirt. "Promise me you'll try and take it easy."

"Astrid, I-…"

In a flash, Astrid's face was right in his. She had that aggressive, determined look on her face, like the one she almost constantly wore during the early days of their dragon-fighting training. "Promise me."

"I promise." There was no arguing with that face.

Astrid nodded, then turned, jumped onto Stormfly and took off.

Toothless gave Hiccup a weird look.

"She doesn't need to know about those nightmares," Hiccup replied to his dragon. Toothless narrowed his eyes.

"Bud, I'm not telling her." _She'd only see me as weak. Vikings do not become unhinged by a bad dream._

* * *

**Sorry about the long wait! I haven't made much progress, so I am uploading another chapter as a kick in the bum for me to finish this damn story! It is my new years resolution! What you are reading is about the half way point; I actually have a fair amount written. Only a tiny bit left to write :D  
Check out my tumblr kellybellybee if you want. I mostly upload pictures of nail art :D_  
_**


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